Attendance and School Opening Hours
Hill West Primary School is committed to ensuring the highest possible school attendance for all its pupils. We understand that all pupils benefit from regular school attendance. To this end we will do all we can to encourage parents/carers to ensure that the children in their care achieve maximum possible attendance and that any problems that prevent full attendance are identified and acted on promptly.
Our aim at Hill West is quite simple. We will work alongside parents and families to ensure that pupil attendance is excellent. We will do this so that we can ensure that our children have the best possible chance to achieve at school and that they can begin their adult lives with at least the same chances as others whom they may be competing with in their future lives of training and employment.
Reception
| 8:55am | Doors Open |
| 9:00-11:40am | Session 1, 2 and 3 |
| 11:40-12:40pm | Lunchtime |
| 12:40-3:10pm | Session 4 and 5 |
| 3:15pm | End of day |
| 31 hours 45 minutes |
Key Stage 1: Years 1 and 2
| 8:45am | Doors Open |
| 8:50-10:45am | Session 1 and 2 |
| 10:45-11:00am | Playtime |
| 11:00-12:00pm | Session 3 |
| 12:00-1:00pm | Lunchtime |
| 1:05-1:20pm | Assembly |
| 1:20-3:20pm | Session 4 and 5 |
| 3:20pm | End of day |
| 32 hours 55 minutes |
Key Stage 2: Years 3 and 4
| 8:45am | Doors Open |
| 8:50-11:00am | Session 1 and 2 |
| 11:00-11:15am | Playtime |
| 11:15-11:30am | Assembly |
| 11:30- 1pm | Session 3 and 4 |
| 1:00- 2:00pm | Lunchtime |
| 2:00 – 3:15pm | Session 5 |
| 3:20pm | End of day. |
| 32 hours 55 minutes |
Key Stage 2: Years 5 and 6
| 8:45am | Doors Open |
| 8:50-11:00am | Session 1 and 2 |
| 11:00-11:15am | Playtime |
| 11:15-11:30am | Assembly |
| 11:30- 12:00pm | Session 3 |
| 12:00- 1:00pm | Lunchtime |
| 1:00 – 3:15pm | Session 4 and 5 |
| 3:20pm | End of day. |
| 32 hours 55 minutes |
EXPECTATIONS
We expect that all pupils will:
- attend school regularly
- attend school punctually
- attend school appropriately prepared for the day
We expect that all parents/carers/persons who have day to day responsibility for the children will:
- encourage regular school attendance and be aware of their legal responsibilities
- ensure that the child/children in their care arrive at school punctually prepared for the school day
- ensure that they contact the school by 9am via telephone whenever the child/children is/are unable to attend school
- contact the school on every day of the child’s absence by telephone and send a note on their return to school following an absence of 3 days or more
- contact the school promptly whenever a problem occurs that may keep the child away from school.
We expect that our school staff will:
- keep regular and accurate records of attendance for all pupils, twice daily
- monitor every pupil’s attendance
- record a child as absent where they arrive to school after the register has closed, using Code U (Unauthorised).
- contact parents as soon as possible when a pupil fails to attend where no message has been received to explain the absence
- make well-being telephone calls on the child’s first day of absence
- contact all children who have been absent from school for three days via a Teams video call
- follow up all unexplained absences to obtain signed notes authorising the absence
- contact will be made with our PCSO and Children’s Services, in the event that the child’s whereabouts are still unknown by day 3 of absence
- contact those families whose child’s attendance has dropped below 90% on a termly basis
- devise attendance contracts between home and school where necessary
- encourage good attendance
- provide a welcoming atmosphere for children; provide a safe learning environment; provide a sympathetic response to any pupil’s concerns
- make initial enquiries of parents/carers of pupils who are not attending regularly, express their concern and clarify the school’s and the Academy’s expectations with regard to regular school attendance
- refer irregular or unjustified patterns of attendance to the Head Teacher, Deputy Head Teacher
LEAVE IN TERM TIME
The school holiday dates are published a year in advance and holidays in term time are not permitted. If a leave of absence in term time is required for exceptional circumstances, such as serious illness in the immediate family, a request for leave of absence form must be completed. This can be obtained from the school office. The Head Teacher will then decide whether or not to authorise the absences by reference to criteria provided by the LA. Head Teachers, on behalf of the Governors, cannot authorise holiday leave in term time.
The Local Authority retain the discretion to issue a penalty notice for repeated absence e.g. birthdays or other family events, including holidays taken in term time.
RESPONDING TO NON-ATTENDANCE
When a pupil does not attend school we will respond in the following manner:
- On the first day of absence, for all irregular attendees, if no telephone call is received from the parent/carer by 9:00 am, the school will endeavour to contact them that day.
- Class teachers will also telephone home to enquire about the welfare of the child on the first day of absence.
- If there is no response, the school will continue to try to contact the parent/carer/approved contacts.
- If by the start of the second day there has still been no contact made, the Attendance Champion will make contact with the family.
- On the third day of absence, class teachers will invite all absent children to attend a wellbeing video conference call.
- In the event that the child’s whereabouts are still unknown by day 3 of absence, contact will be made with our PCSO and Children’s Services.
- Provide the Local Authority with names and addresses of all pupils of compulsory school age, who fail to attend school regularly or who have been absent for a continuous period of 10 school days, where the absence has been recorded as unauthorised
- Provide the Local Authority with names and addresses of all pupils of compulsory school age, who have been recorded as absent due to illness and where we believe the child will miss 15 school days, consecutively or cumulatively.
LATE ARRIVALS AT SCHOOL
When a child arrives late at school he/she misses the teacher’s instructions and the introduction to the lesson. The child may also feel embarrassed at having to enter the classroom late. Frequent lateness can add up to a considerable amount of learning lost, and can seriously disadvantage the child.
- 5 minutes late per day equals 3.7 days of teaching lost in a year in KS1 and 3.4 days lost in KS2
- 10 minutes late per day equals 7.4 days of teaching lost in a year in KS1 and 6.9 days lost in KS2
- 15 minutes late per day equals 10 days of teaching lost in a year in KS1 and 10.3 days lost in KS2
- 20 minutes late per day equals 14.7 days of teaching lost in a year in KS1 and 13.8 days lost in KS2
- 30 minutes late per day equals 22 days of teaching lost in a year in KS1 and 20.7 days lost in KS2
We strongly urge parents to ensure that their children arrive in school on time. School starts for KS1 and 2 children at 8.45am and Reception children at 8:55am.
ATTENDANCE FIGURES
2018-2019
Whole School – 97%; Boys – 97%; Girls – 97.1%; those identified as disadvantaged – 94.8%
2019-2020 (up to and including 20th March when school’s went into lock-down due to Covid-19)
Whole School – 96.2%; Boys – 96.1%; Girls – 96.3%; those identified as disadvantaged – 93.2%
2020-2021 (which included a National Lockdown between January 2021 and March 2021)
Whole School – 96.1%; Boys – 96.1%; Girls – 96.3%; those identified as disadvantaged – 91.3%
2021-2022
Whole School – 95.33%; Boys – 95.42%; Girls – 95.29%; those identified as disadvantaged – 92.22%
2022-2023
Whole School – 95.2%; Boys – 95.1%; Girls – 95.2%; those identified as disadvantaged – 92.8%
2023-2024
Whole School – 95.8%; Boys – 95.9%; Girls – 95.7%; those identified as disadvantaged – 91.5%
